


On Sleepless Nights

by ShyWhovian



Category: Doctor Who (1963)
Genre: Gen, cool dad fivey, fivey is such a dad, peri's garden, the TARDIS really likes bugging people
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-17
Updated: 2016-08-17
Packaged: 2018-08-09 07:13:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,399
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7791874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShyWhovian/pseuds/ShyWhovian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Peri is restless, night terrors are getting to her, talking to the Doctor won't help besides, he's a time lord, he won't have time to deal with it. Exploring the TARDIS seems like a good idea to her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	On Sleepless Nights

The TARDIS was quiet as it floated aimlessly through the time vortex, its pilot working on some malfunction or other in the console room, occasionally letting out low curses in Gallifreyan and hoping that he wouldn't set off any sort of alarm or alert which could possibly wake his sleeping companion.

The companion in question, a Miss Perpugilliam Brown, Peri to her friends, formerly of Earth, was not asleep though, she had in fact, been awake for several hours now, sitting on her bed, staring blankly at a wall on the opposite side of her room, her knees pulled up to her chest. She was restless; her sleep, as usual, was plagued by nightmares and being awake didn't help either, it only gave her mind an excuse to dwell on them. She desperately needed a distraction. But what to do? Go see the Doctor? No, he'd probably just tell her it was nothing and send her back to bed like a child. She supposed she could go to the library, but books would only keep her occupied for so long, and she was fairly certain that after the last change in the TARDIS in order to get to the library you had to go through the pool room, which was quite literally a room with a swimming pool in place of a floor, and she couldn't swim. Really, she craved a place to call her own, this bedroom was great and all, but it really wasn't hers, it had belonged to another girl, Tegan, and she hadn't ever dared changing bedrooms in case she got lost. The American sighed sadly, holding her knees tighter and turning her gaze to the floor as she made her mind up.

Quietly she got off the bed, not bothering to slip on any shoes or her dressing gown, and stepped out into the blank corridor. Taking a look to her left she reassured herself that the door to the console room was still there she went in the opposite direction, padding softly down the corridor, hoping that the exploration would keep her mind of the night's bad dream. She'd never really explored the ship before, only sticking to the places the Doctor had recommended when she first came aboard, not wanting to irritate or offend him in any way; but now she roamed freely, peering into various rooms, her dark eyes alight with a burning curiosity. This place was bigger than she'd ever imagined, sure the Doctor had said it was infinite, but she'd never really believed that until now. The young girl looked in room after room, each one seemingly more impossible than the next, there was one without any gravity at all, one that almost felt like a pressure chamber, even one that seemed to be entirely dedicated to Christmas, which struck her as odd because the Doctor was an alien, so surely he wouldn't feel the need to celebrate the holiday but she supposed he just had it for his human friends, a fact that she found quite sweet really.

Unbeknownst to her, the ship had realised what its newest arrival was doing and had begun guiding her towards one place in particular, sealing off all the doors in the current corridor Peri stood in, causing the American girl to glower up at the ceiling in frustration and blow her fringe up moodily. What was the TARDIS playing at exactly? Why did she have to ruin her fun? The TARDIS wheezed and Peri could swear that was some sort of mechanical laugh, she bet the ship found it so funny to annoy her like this. Pessimistically she tried the last door in the corridor, not expecting this one to open either. To her surprise, it did and what was inside made her gasp in delight; it was so beautiful.

Inside this room was a garden, just a very plain simple one with a long stretch of lawn, a large greenhouse at the bottom, and flowerbeds, so many flowerbeds, filled with every flower Peri could think of. They all seemed to come from Earth, and she stepped in among them, naming them all in her head as she passed. Roses, laburnums, daffodils, even tiny little forget-me-nots, all blooming in this one location. Flowers from all countries and all seasons seemed to be there, even ones she knew by sight but didn't know the name of. It was fantastic. Eagerly she walked towards the greenhouse, surely if the garden was like this then the greenhouse must be filled with spectacular otherworldly plants, the likes of which she'd never seen let alone heard of. But when she pushed the door open she found that, to her dismay, it was completely empty aside from pots filled with soil, almost as if someone had wanted to start their own greenhouse but had never gotten around to it. She sighed, disappointment echoing around the glass house, and turned to leave when something caught her attention; a small piece of paper. She bent to pick it up, frowning at it slightly, there was a strange writing on it, just a bunch of different size circles but as she watched they changed into something more legible. Her name.

Peri blinked in confusion, well, that cleared everything up, didn't it? She thought sarcastically to herself, but then her eyes widened in realisation. Oh! Her frown transformed into a wide grin. This place, this greenhouse, it was for her. The TARDIS, or the Doctor she supposed, had given her a safe place, somewhere she could work and not pay any attention to fears and feelings that plagued her. This greenhouse was empty because she was supposed to fill it, she'd been taking plant samples from all the planets they'd been visiting in her short time on the ship, now she finally had a place to watch them grow, she hadn't thought anyone had noticed. Happily, she raced back to her room to collect them, pausing only to grab a pair of gardening gloves and a small trowel and then she was back in there, happily potting her small collection of plants that had no name, working so hard that she lost track of time, too focused on her gardening.

The last one planted, she stepped back, already it looked so much better, full of life rather than just empty soil. She wiped a hand across her brow, accidentally leaving a trail of dirt there, and stepped out into the much cooler garden area to sit on the grass and relax for a while, feeling that she deserved it. After a while she lay back, staring up at the ceiling, which inexplicably looked like the sky on Earth on a hot summer's day. The peaceful atmosphere and silence began making her drowsy; her eyelids heavy, she let them fall shut without hesitation and, breathing in the scent of flowers, she drifted off, curling herself into a tiny ball, looking entirely peaceful.

The Doctor, having finished his repairs was plotting a course to somewhere he hadn't been in a long time, Androzani Minor, the perfect place to acquire sand. Once done he decided it was high time to fetch his companion, so hands in pockets he set off to Tegan's old room and knocked on the door briskly, calling out. “Peri, rise and shine, the TARDIS is fixed and...” The door swung open, revealing an empty bed and an equally empty room. He frowned, where was she, it wasn't like her to go wandering. Luckily, it seemed the TARDIS knew where she was, and with a bit of prompting he finally found his way to a room he'd not seen since his Second self, the garden, and there, sleeping on the lawn, curled up like a cat and covered in dirt, was Peri. He smiled softly, taking in the form of his sleeping companion, noticing as though for the first time just how young and innocent she truly was. She looked almost childlike in her sleep, peaceful in a way she never was when awake. He sighed and walked to her, picking her up gently in his arms and carrying her back to her bed. Perhaps, he thought, laying her down and pulling the blanket over her, perhaps this adventure could wait a little longer. That decided, he quietly walked off to the library, hoping that he'd removed the pool by now.


End file.
